There's a scene about 30 minutes into "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" that is impossible to describe without sounding like you're on hallucinogens. Let's try anyway:

Some orphaned owls, turned into zombies by the moon, sift through the barfed-up refuse of other owls, picking out glowing blue pieces of metal. These pieces are flown by vampire bats to a larger hunk of metal that emits a blue force field, to be used by the bad guy owls to enslave the rest of owlkind.

"Legend of the Guardians" sounds like it was scripted by a team of 11-year-old boys, with too much plot for its 91-minute running time, a script that steals liberally from "Star Wars" and some occasional eye-roll-worthy weirdness. But the film has plenty of charm, too, and has strong animation and character design to go with its better-than-average 3D presentation.

"Legend" is based on the first three "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" books by Kathryn Lasky, although it drops several characters and plot points. The result is short attention span theater, which makes director Zack Snyder an excellent choice to helm the project. It's his first animated film or his third, depending on your definition of "300" and "Watchmen," and he shepherds the frequent action scenes competently. There are no arrows blotting out the sun, but the owls wear cool-looking blades on their talons like Freddy Krueger.

The story focuses on Soren, a barn owl who worships the characters in the adventure stories told by his father Noctus, voiced by Hugo Weaving. The sensitive Soren and his brother Kludd are captured by a cult of owls called the Pure Ones (Nazi comparisons abound), which leads to an adventure to find the Jedi-like owls of Ga'Hoole, who have the power to confront the forces of evil.

That may sound more like "Lord of the Rings," but the truth is in the details. Soren is taught to use The Gizzard, which is pretty much exactly the same thing as The Force, minus the mind control. Later, the disembodied voice of a wise warrior owl implores Soren to "use your gizzard," followed by a climactic event that is almost identical to the Death Star destruction scene in "Star Wars."

And yet the whole thing seems fresh, aided by outstanding visuals. The owls in particular are amazingly expressive, with faces that are filled with character without looking cartoonish. The battle scenes can be confusing -- several of the owls look alike -- but Snyder uses his slow motion techniques effectively. While the PG rating ensures that not a single drop of blood is spilled, kids in particular will enjoy the stylish action.

The movie takes a refreshingly honest approach to nature, which includes owls catching and eating mice, and then throwing up large pellets containing mouse bones and fur. Plan your pre-theater meals accordingly.